"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn

Tuesday, 26 December 2006

The 12 Times of Christmas

How was YOUR Christmas? Did Santa bring you everthing you wanted... or did you get coal in your stocking for being a bad girl or boy?

We had a great time at our family Christmas yesterday, held at my sister's beautiful new house which was decorated like something out of a magazine. (Seriously, my little sister has turned out to be a real-life "Suzy Homemaker"--her name is Susan--and she's fabulous at it. Maybe Martha Stewart ought to retire and let my sister take over the empire.) She did all the outdoor Christmas lights herself and they were tastefully done; she and her daughter decorated the 11-foot tall tree after her husband put it up in the stand for her. The bannisters (both of them) had greenery and bows; candles were everywhere. Every corner had some Christmasy touch. It was spectacular; I'm so proud of her because not only did she manage to do all of that, but she did it while holding down a demanding full-time job as a first-grade teacher where this year, she has what she calls a "Damien" child (like, from "The Omen"). AND they had a big party last weekend where they invited all the neighbors from the old neighborhood they left and from their new neighborhood, too. And she still managed to enjoy herself and keep her sense of humor by the time Christmas actually arrived!

Christmas Eve was nice, too; we did a small dinner at my sister's (we offered to have it at my mom's but my sister insisted) where Sis made the best lasagna she's ever made, or that I have EVER tasted, anywhere. Unfortunately my nephew had what we now thing was food poisoning from something he ate the night before so he was quarantined upstairs all day and all night long and couldn't join us on Christmas Eve. By the time my mom, my niece and I got back from an early church service though, he was on the mend and being nursed back to health by his lovely girlfriend (I'm sure THAT perked him up a lot). And he was fine by Christmas Day.

All-in-all, this was a really good holiday. It felt easy and relatively stress-free, for me at least. All the people who were there are a lot of fun and we all get along, so none of that family sniping and fighting going on with this crowd. We were minus a few out-of-state relatives on my brother-in-law's side but they all got to see each other at Thanksgiving this year.

I guess I can best sum up our Christmas celebrations with a little multiplication, inspired (a bit) by the TwelveDays of Christmas:

12 times (or maybe it was 12 TIMES 12) we had to pull the two dogs apart because Abby is a tease and Baxter couldn't control himself;

11 times (bare minimum) I must have seen "A Christmas Story" during the annual 24-hour Marathon on TBS;

10 times (at least) my nephew tried to reach his sweetie via cell phone, but couldn't because she was with her own family;

9 times my niece must have hugged her Uncle Mike because she so loved the guitar he got her;

8 times the fun and noise with 8 of us in attendance, yelling at the TV during the Cowboys/Eagles game, and laughing constantly the rest of the time;

7 times the joy and pleasure I got from watching everyone open the gifts I brought them from Paris and London (the joy really IS in the giving!)

6 times the adults glaring with disapproval at my 14-year old niece after she said something incredibly vulgar at the dinner table (oh, she is definitely a teenager now and not always so sweet and innocent anymore);

5 times the relaxation I will be experiencing tomorrow when I use the two spa gift certificates I got;

4 times the great desserts to eat, and at least 40 times one of us said how full we were after we got done eating them;

3 times I refilled my glass (actually it was only two because I never finished the last one);

Comments

The 12 Times of Christmas

How was YOUR Christmas? Did Santa bring you everthing you wanted... or did you get coal in your stocking for being a bad girl or boy?

We had a great time at our family Christmas yesterday, held at my sister's beautiful new house which was decorated like something out of a magazine. (Seriously, my little sister has turned out to be a real-life "Suzy Homemaker"--her name is Susan--and she's fabulous at it. Maybe Martha Stewart ought to retire and let my sister take over the empire.) She did all the outdoor Christmas lights herself and they were tastefully done; she and her daughter decorated the 11-foot tall tree after her husband put it up in the stand for her. The bannisters (both of them) had greenery and bows; candles were everywhere. Every corner had some Christmasy touch. It was spectacular; I'm so proud of her because not only did she manage to do all of that, but she did it while holding down a demanding full-time job as a first-grade teacher where this year, she has what she calls a "Damien" child (like, from "The Omen"). AND they had a big party last weekend where they invited all the neighbors from the old neighborhood they left and from their new neighborhood, too. And she still managed to enjoy herself and keep her sense of humor by the time Christmas actually arrived!

Christmas Eve was nice, too; we did a small dinner at my sister's (we offered to have it at my mom's but my sister insisted) where Sis made the best lasagna she's ever made, or that I have EVER tasted, anywhere. Unfortunately my nephew had what we now thing was food poisoning from something he ate the night before so he was quarantined upstairs all day and all night long and couldn't join us on Christmas Eve. By the time my mom, my niece and I got back from an early church service though, he was on the mend and being nursed back to health by his lovely girlfriend (I'm sure THAT perked him up a lot). And he was fine by Christmas Day.

All-in-all, this was a really good holiday. It felt easy and relatively stress-free, for me at least. All the people who were there are a lot of fun and we all get along, so none of that family sniping and fighting going on with this crowd. We were minus a few out-of-state relatives on my brother-in-law's side but they all got to see each other at Thanksgiving this year.

I guess I can best sum up our Christmas celebrations with a little multiplication, inspired (a bit) by the TwelveDays of Christmas:

12 times (or maybe it was 12 TIMES 12) we had to pull the two dogs apart because Abby is a tease and Baxter couldn't control himself;

11 times (bare minimum) I must have seen "A Christmas Story" during the annual 24-hour Marathon on TBS;

10 times (at least) my nephew tried to reach his sweetie via cell phone, but couldn't because she was with her own family;

9 times my niece must have hugged her Uncle Mike because she so loved the guitar he got her;

8 times the fun and noise with 8 of us in attendance, yelling at the TV during the Cowboys/Eagles game, and laughing constantly the rest of the time;

7 times the joy and pleasure I got from watching everyone open the gifts I brought them from Paris and London (the joy really IS in the giving!)

6 times the adults glaring with disapproval at my 14-year old niece after she said something incredibly vulgar at the dinner table (oh, she is definitely a teenager now and not always so sweet and innocent anymore);

5 times the relaxation I will be experiencing tomorrow when I use the two spa gift certificates I got;

4 times the great desserts to eat, and at least 40 times one of us said how full we were after we got done eating them;

3 times I refilled my glass (actually it was only two because I never finished the last one);

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